THE EXPERIENCE

History in Your Hands

Over a multi-course dinner at The Capital Grille, Wilma Jones presents the complete story of Black Arlington — from Green Valley to Freedman's Village through Halls Hill, Queen City, East Arlington, Pelham Town, Johnson's Hill, and Butler-Holmes to the late 1960s.

Newspaper clippings, period photographs, property deeds, and a curated audio-visual presentation bring locations, documents, and photographs to life on screen while archival reproductions circulate the table as the history unfolds.

Unlike anything else your clients can experience in Washington.

Intimate. Conversational. Designed for groups who want to do more than visit a city — they want to understand it.

THE EXPERIENCE

These Documents Sit on the Table at Dinner

"Arlington Schools Turn Away Negroes" — September 5, 1957.
Less than two years later, four children from Halls Hill walked through those doors anyway.

Wilma Jones's archival collection spans nearly 300 years of Black Arlington history. Research-grade reproductions of newspaper clippings, property deeds, period photographs, and government documents are placed in guests' hands as each chapter of the story is told.

The September 1958 Washington Post spread pictured here shows four students named Michael Jones, Ronald Deskins, Lance Newman, and Gloria Thompson. Michael Jones is Wilma's brother. This is not curated history. This is her family's archive — on the table, in your hands.

WHAT'S AT THE TABLE

More Than a Dinner.
More Than a Lecture.

📜
Archival Reproductions

Research-grade reproductions of newspaper clippings, property deeds, and period photographs circulate the table as each chapter of the story unfolds.

🖼
Audio-Visual Presentation

A curated presentation brings archival photographs, maps, and documents to life on screen — anchoring every story in the places and people who lived it.

🗺
The Complete Story

Green Valley. Freedman's Village. Halls Hill. Queen City. East Arlington. Pelham Town. Johnson's Hill. Butler-Holmes. The full geography of Black Arlington, told in sequence.

💬
Live Q&A

Intimate group size means genuine conversation. Guests leave with answers to questions they didn't know they had before the evening began.

The Stratford Four

Wilma Jones

Historian | Author | Fourth Generation Halls Hill Resident

Wilma Jones has spent more than 20 years documenting 400+ stories of Black Arlington history spanning nearly 300 years — drawing from the Arlington Center for Local History, the Library of Virginia, and her own family's archive.

Her brother Michael is one of the Stratford Four. Her family has lived on this hill for four generations. She is not a guide who studied this history. She was raised into this history.

Author of My Halls Hill Family: More Than a Neighborhood. NPR-featured community leader. Award-winning civic activist. The most compelling storyteller you'll meet in the DC region.

Tour Details

GROUP SIZE

Up to 12 guests

DURATION

VENUE

SCHEDULING

ADD-ONS

2.5-3 Hours with Q&A

The Capital Grille

Lunch or Dinner

Available

BOOKING WINDOW

One Week Minimum

Partner with ABHE

Let’s design an experience for your clients

Email

Info@ArlingtonBlackHeritageExperiences.com

© 2026. All rights reserved.

Buy the books

My Halls Hill Family: More Than a Neighborhood
Little Michael Visits Fire Station 8

Code of Conduct

Review the ABHE Code of Conduct applicable for guests and organizations for ALL experiences.

Operational Standards

ABHE meets the operational standards required by DMCs, luxury tour organizations, corporate incentive and procurement teams. We carry $1,000,000 in general liability coverage and maintain absolute client privacy - no guest photography, no social media, and no disclosure of client or attendee information. Certificates of insurance available upon request.